Building inspector dint report accurately

This is only my second post, and finally after a long hunt we managed to buy a house (PPOR) in Rowville, Melbourne.

When we inspected this house initially (30+ years old I think), we really liked it, so we made a written offer (subject to building and pest inspection). We were told we have 3 days to complete the professional inspection when we signed the contract, and this was on a Thursday morning, we dint know if a building inspector will be available immediately etc...so the agent said she can refer us to some one she knows. We have been working with the agent for almost 6 months, and she has been very straight forward to us, so we decided to use her reference

Inspection was done, no major structural damages were reported, and some minor issues were sorted out by the vendor as well. We moved in to the house this past weekend, and noticed a few of these issues (some spotted by friends):

1. a medium size leak mark in the living room roof (pitched), it has a small patch of mold on it as well
2. several patches of leak marks in one of the rooms adjacent to a bathroom. The leak patches are directly behind the shower. It is slightly moist and looks like it has been around for a while and has been covered up perhaps

We got a pest control specialist to come in and do the spraying, he happened to be a building inspector as well, he had a look at these spots and said the one in the bedroom is serious and should have been picked up by the building inspector. He also showed us places were the house has moved (a visible crack in 2 locations), and this has created a slope on the floor at multiple locations.

We appointed a building inspector to complete the inspection for us as we aren't experts, he should have picked up on this I assume. I know, we should have been careful with selecting a building inspector, however what I am wondering now is, can we hold the inspector liable for not reporting these issues? as this would have influenced our decision.

And we wont have any funds left for reno or knockdown in the near future. I feel like we are stuck in a mess.

Apologies for the long post, I guess I am after some direction on what next?

 

Check with you la

Check with your lawyer see if you have any rights against the inspector. They will be insured!

 

You can basically just call the building inspector and tell them what you told us.
They will give your justification for the exclusion of those issues.
Since, you have already moved into the house not much can be done.
However, if the 'issues' the property inspectors did not pick up cause any damage to the property, you can hold them accountable.

 

You could sue for breach of contract and negligence possibly.

 

Is this feasible? I've had a B&P done and in the report there are so many clauses and statements like 'we recommend you further contact a specialist for XYZ' that it seems like they've covered their ass for almost anything missed.

 

You would need to get legal advice to determine if it was worth pursuing or not.

 

please let us know how you go with your solicitor.. This is something that isn't discussed too much I.e. What's the success rate in getting recourse from dodgy inspectors??

 

I agree that you should call your building inspector to discuss this. Get him out to look. If the problem is old, then he should have spotted it. Ask him for a remedy. He may have insurance.

However, I also think you should be realistic about the size of those issues. A couple of leaks and some structural, movement might not be too bad. Waterproofing the shower will cost - but not a huge expense.

Would you really have pulled out of the sale if you had known?

Not sure why you are talking about the cost to knock down and rebuild? Can't see that you would have to rebuild because of a leak?

Lots of older houses have uneven floors ( in fact new houses often have some uneveness to floors - it is allowed in the standards and tolerances guide)

Hang in there. Ask the building inspector in the first instance.

 

Thanks for the response guys, sorry for not replying earlier. I spoke to the inspector and he says he is sure none of the issues were visible at the time of inspection and must have happened since. And he recommended that I speak to the agent. the agent will probably tell me, you did the inspection and it's not her problem any more. @Joynz no we don't want to knock down because of a leak, but with the movement cracks on the wall and the leak..I feel it may cost quite a bit to fix, so we thought we will find out what's its going to cost to fix issues and do minor Reno as opposed to rebuilding, and the value it might add.

Now I'm going to call the agent and see what she says.

 

I believe building and pest reports are usually limited to visual inspection. If it didn't rain the days before inspection it may not be so obvious. But I agree small problems can become major if they're not fixed.

 

Call me cynical but it sounds like the agent and building inspector has stitched you up..

The agent shouldn't have pressured you into a 3 day b&p clause. Even if you had a preferred inspector they may not have been available in 3 days.

You should never ever use a service recommended by the agent. They will work for the seller, not for you.

It seems to me the inspector, who is ready on call for the agent is well aware of the defects and has decided not to tell you..

A water leak to a ceiling does not appear out of the blue overnight.. Has there been a storm event since the building inspection? Similarly, cracking is highly unlikely to have appeared overnight and is on the inspectors radar - they shouldn't miss cracking to walls.

A leaking bathroom is literally one of the first checks an inspector should make. A leaking bathroom can cost big $$ to fix. It only takes a moment to put a moisture meter on the opposite wall of a wet area.

I'm really not too sure what your chances of recourse is through the inspector. You may need to find a solicitor who is experienced in such matters.

I would also follow up with real estate institute to see if there have been any other 'issues' with the selling agent.. It seems too suspicious to me.

 

Ask the inspector to come out and that you will pay him for his time to do so. Then ask him to write his report on if this leak could of happened in the last month etc... or ask another inspector to come out. Be worth the 500 bucks i feel

 

When I had my place inspected, afterwards I. Priced some cracking that the engineer handn't noted.

He came out for free to look at it. And so should the OP's inspector.

One other thing; did you do a pre-settlement inspection?